WHAT MOTIVATES YOU TO EXCEL?

“I want to always
be the best that
I can be for my
client, team,
and company,
and I also want
to emulate the
strong leadership
examples that
have been built
into my career.

Knowing the end
result and goal
of our work—
supporting the
warfighter—
makes going
to work to do
my best each
day have direct
purpose and
value-add outside
of simply saving
dollars or doing
business more
efficiently. Seeing
the difference that
can be made from
the work that we
do motivates me
to drive forward.”

EXCELLENCE IN CLIENT SERVICE SARAH PETIT / MORGANFRANKLIN CONSULTING

It’s a good sign that the client respects your expertise when they request you personally write a curriculum for their staff based on your work with them. That’s exactly what MorganFranklin Consulting’s Sarah Petit
experienced, and she calls it one of her
proudest moments of the past year.

“After four years of providing audit advisory support to my government client, they
requested that I build a curriculum for officers and staff non-commissioned officers
(NCOs) on the requirements and components of an audit and how to sustain an audit.
It was a great honor to be recognized by
my client for my expertise and entrusted to
impart this critical knowledge to the financial management community,” she says.

She also takes pride in supporting her client through the first years of financial statement audit preparation and leading the team
through its first successful audit completion.

“The work required designing reporting
capabilities to build clear understanding of
the audit status, reconcile open items, and
communicate with the correct stakeholders
in a timely manner to submit all documentation. I became a trusted advisor for my client and was able to shape how the branch
was structured, how we communicated with
the field, and how to apply detailed lessons
learned to implement and drive change each
year. Being able to see change happen and
witness the shift from getting through an
audit to improving business processes has
been extremely rewarding,” she says.

Petit stressed the importance of patience,
focus, and flexibility as major factors to her
continued success.

“While supporting my client over the past
four years, I have changed and adapted my
role while building on my expertise in their
business. I gained an understanding of my
client’s mission, values, and focus so I could
respond to their needs in a way that they
understood and appreciated,” Petit says.

When it comes to what she loves about
her work, Petit says she enjoys objectively
assessing a challenge and working with clients and industry partners to find the best
solution to successfully mitigate any issues
or risks, and working with people with
unique skill sets, which she says helps her
sharpen her own skills.

As for the Top 25 Consultants Award,
Petit says it’s humbling.

“I focus each day on giving the best to my
client and enjoying the work I get to do and
the team I have the privilege to lead. It seems
basic, but being recognized for client service
validates the value I place on supporting my
client in executing their mission.”